Lakers News: Coach Phil Handy Reminds Everyone the Title Won’t Be Handed to Them

Big names were added, but Handy understands the long arduous journey of winning and is cautious.

As diehard Laker fans know, constructing a team with superstar names does not always equate to a championship. Future Hall of Famers Karl Malone and Gary Payton were added in 2004, only to lose in the Finals. Then in 2012, Steve Nash and Dwight Howard joined the Lakers only to see them get swept in the first round.

Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy knows this too, as he recently said that this current group of players have a lot of work to do if they are to achieve their end goal of a title. After the departure of Jason Kidd, Lionel Hollins, and pseudo player-coach Jared Dudley, Handy and David Fizdale are the most noticeable vocal voices as coaches behind head coach Frank Vogel.

Recently, on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Handy treaded lightly with the Lakers this upcoming season.

"You look at that piece of paper and say, Lakers are loaded, automatic championship. Nah man, we got a lot of work to do in terms of just gelling, finding our rhythm and being able to be cohesive as a unit. I like what we’ve done, I’m really excited about it, but there’s a lot of work ahead of us."

After acquiring triple double machine Russell Westbrook, the Lakers added former All Stars and key rotation guys to round out the roster. Like Handy says, on paper this may look like a star-studded roster, but that has nothing to do with what happens on the court.

"Paper doesn't win championships for us."#Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy (@94feetofgame) tells @Jumpshot8 & @DarthAmin what we can expect from this year's Lakers team. #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/zsdfjPZi9m

— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) August 22, 2021

"Paper doesn’t win championships for us. Those names that are on that paper, are some phenomenal names. We gotta do our work and make sure we gel. Do we fit? These guys, they gotta figure out ways to play with each other and sacrifice, and let their names take over."

Handy has been an assistant coach in the league for eleven years, making a name for himself initially as a player development coach. He had stints serving under Mike Brown with the Lakers and Cavaliers, and then as an assistant with Nick Nurse and the Toronto Raptors.